Ask us about Thailand!
11-09-2011
, 11:02 PM
Hello, are going to post this in both Philippines thread and Thailand thread.
Im now in my final year in school and graduate next summer.
Im 18 years old as were speaking and I have some plans "Moving" abroad for a couple of months next autumn. Along with my I'm going to bring some friend which also are poker players.
We are right now just fooling around and talking about this half serious, but I am probably the one who is most serious about this.
I've been in a little more than 40 countries around the world so I have always had a thing for traveling. Now I wanna settle down for lets say 6 months with some friends somewhere in Asia and grind, have a really nice time and try and have all expenses paid by poker.
So here is some questions if anyone of you care to answer
1. What stakes should you play to be able to live there and have everything paid by poker. (Ofcourse I know that this will variate by person by person and how you wanna live etc.) But I mean, is it possible to live there playing NL100 and still live a pretty nice life there?
2. What is normal to spent on everything a month? (Including food, rent, day trips, etc etc etc)
3. Is there any big difference why you should choose either Philippines/Thailand. Probably that Thailand is more expensive, but is there any other pro's / con's for either country?
4. Where should you rent a house? Whats normal rent for a house for lets say, 4-5 people?
5. How do you find the right people to rent a house? Travel to Thailand/Philippines and go to a hotel and check in for a couple of days and spend some days to search for a house?
Hmm, this is want I could think about 4.00 in the night, if you got anything else that might be interesting for me to find out, please don't hesitate to write this I'm looking to find a lot of info for this trip and try to plan this to the greatest 
Im now in my final year in school and graduate next summer.
Im 18 years old as were speaking and I have some plans "Moving" abroad for a couple of months next autumn. Along with my I'm going to bring some friend which also are poker players.
We are right now just fooling around and talking about this half serious, but I am probably the one who is most serious about this.
I've been in a little more than 40 countries around the world so I have always had a thing for traveling. Now I wanna settle down for lets say 6 months with some friends somewhere in Asia and grind, have a really nice time and try and have all expenses paid by poker.
So here is some questions if anyone of you care to answer
1. What stakes should you play to be able to live there and have everything paid by poker. (Ofcourse I know that this will variate by person by person and how you wanna live etc.) But I mean, is it possible to live there playing NL100 and still live a pretty nice life there?
2. What is normal to spent on everything a month? (Including food, rent, day trips, etc etc etc)
3. Is there any big difference why you should choose either Philippines/Thailand. Probably that Thailand is more expensive, but is there any other pro's / con's for either country?
4. Where should you rent a house? Whats normal rent for a house for lets say, 4-5 people
?5. How do you find the right people to rent a house? Travel to Thailand/Philippines and go to a hotel and check in for a couple of days and spend some days to search for a house?
Hmm, this is want I could think about 4.00 in the night, if you got anything else that might be interesting for me to find out, please don't hesitate to write this
I'm looking to find a lot of info for this trip and try to plan this to the greatest
11-10-2011
, 12:54 AM
you are really asking questions that cant be answered since everything depends on what a person wants, can live with, can afford etc.
start with reading the sticky. i will try to answer your questions but dont know how much the answers will help since your questions are kind of vague
1. of course 100nl is enough as long as you have a positive winrate and put enough volume in. and your bankroll should be big enough to cover downswings and have savings for rainy days. this isnt really thailand specific but for anyone who plays poker for a living how long have you supported yourself playing only poker?
2. 1-10k. it just depends so much on a person. what you eat, how much your rent is, are you paying for overnight company every day, do you drink while going out much etc. the first 1-2 months you will spend significantly more until/if you settle down and learn the ropes
3. i have no clue about philippines
4. depends on location. most 2+2ers are in bangkok, phuket and chiang mai. you really need to take your group to each location and see what you like. each of these locations is so different from each other. also season, whether you find the house through an agency or by yourself and for how long you rent for affect the price. ~best case scenario in phuket for 4-5ppl would probably be around 10k baht/person/month if you rent a house for 6-12months and find it by yourself. you can obviously get lucky with good deals from agents too sometimes
5. in phuket(in thailand?) going to see houses with agents if free, they just take their cut from the rent if you rent a house. so you cant lose anything by doing that. when you have picked your location you can start finding out the agents. expect the rent prices through agents to be inflated. another option is to drive around yourself and find houses for rent. you might want someone with knowledge of the area and how things work to be with you though so you dont end up with some common problems
start with reading the sticky. i will try to answer your questions but dont know how much the answers will help since your questions are kind of vague
1. of course 100nl is enough as long as you have a positive winrate and put enough volume in. and your bankroll should be big enough to cover downswings and have savings for rainy days. this isnt really thailand specific but for anyone who plays poker for a living
how long have you supported yourself playing only poker?2. 1-10k. it just depends so much on a person. what you eat, how much your rent is, are you paying for overnight company every day, do you drink while going out much etc. the first 1-2 months you will spend significantly more until/if you settle down and learn the ropes
3. i have no clue about philippines
4. depends on location. most 2+2ers are in bangkok, phuket and chiang mai. you really need to take your group to each location and see what you like. each of these locations is so different from each other. also season, whether you find the house through an agency or by yourself and for how long you rent for affect the price. ~best case scenario in phuket for 4-5ppl would probably be around 10k baht/person/month if you rent a house for 6-12months and find it by yourself. you can obviously get lucky with good deals from agents too sometimes
5. in phuket(in thailand?) going to see houses with agents if free, they just take their cut from the rent if you rent a house. so you cant lose anything by doing that. when you have picked your location you can start finding out the agents. expect the rent prices through agents to be inflated. another option is to drive around yourself and find houses for rent. you might want someone with knowledge of the area and how things work to be with you though so you dont end up with some common problems
11-10-2011
, 02:38 PM
Quote:
you are really asking questions that cant be answered since everything depends on what a person wants, can live with, can afford etc.
start with reading the sticky. i will try to answer your questions but dont know how much the answers will help since your questions are kind of vague
1. of course 100nl is enough as long as you have a positive winrate and put enough volume in. and your bankroll should be big enough to cover downswings and have savings for rainy days. this isnt really thailand specific but for anyone who plays poker for a living how long have you supported yourself playing only poker?
2. 1-10k. it just depends so much on a person. what you eat, how much your rent is, are you paying for overnight company every day, do you drink while going out much etc. the first 1-2 months you will spend significantly more until/if you settle down and learn the ropes
3. i have no clue about philippines
4. depends on location. most 2+2ers are in bangkok, phuket and chiang mai. you really need to take your group to each location and see what you like. each of these locations is so different from each other. also season, whether you find the house through an agency or by yourself and for how long you rent for affect the price. ~best case scenario in phuket for 4-5ppl would probably be around 10k baht/person/month if you rent a house for 6-12months and find it by yourself. you can obviously get lucky with good deals from agents too sometimes
5. in phuket(in thailand?) going to see houses with agents if free, they just take their cut from the rent if you rent a house. so you cant lose anything by doing that. when you have picked your location you can start finding out the agents. expect the rent prices through agents to be inflated. another option is to drive around yourself and find houses for rent. you might want someone with knowledge of the area and how things work to be with you though so you dont end up with some common problems
start with reading the sticky. i will try to answer your questions but dont know how much the answers will help since your questions are kind of vague
1. of course 100nl is enough as long as you have a positive winrate and put enough volume in. and your bankroll should be big enough to cover downswings and have savings for rainy days. this isnt really thailand specific but for anyone who plays poker for a living
how long have you supported yourself playing only poker?2. 1-10k. it just depends so much on a person. what you eat, how much your rent is, are you paying for overnight company every day, do you drink while going out much etc. the first 1-2 months you will spend significantly more until/if you settle down and learn the ropes
3. i have no clue about philippines
4. depends on location. most 2+2ers are in bangkok, phuket and chiang mai. you really need to take your group to each location and see what you like. each of these locations is so different from each other. also season, whether you find the house through an agency or by yourself and for how long you rent for affect the price. ~best case scenario in phuket for 4-5ppl would probably be around 10k baht/person/month if you rent a house for 6-12months and find it by yourself. you can obviously get lucky with good deals from agents too sometimes
5. in phuket(in thailand?) going to see houses with agents if free, they just take their cut from the rent if you rent a house. so you cant lose anything by doing that. when you have picked your location you can start finding out the agents. expect the rent prices through agents to be inflated. another option is to drive around yourself and find houses for rent. you might want someone with knowledge of the area and how things work to be with you though so you dont end up with some common problems
Right now I play NL20 staked, I have 2 coaches.. one who works on my game and one who works on my mental game (Jared Tandler) havent started to work with him yet though, but will start soon.
My plans is to atleast be at NL100 before even trying to move and live in Thailand/Philippines... And ofcourse i'm going to have a backup plan ~3-4k€ if I run bad at poker or anything like that.
Quote:
You should just say how much you are willing to spend each month on all expenses. NL100 is a meaningless description of your income and budget.
Some budget retirees stay here for next to nothing and some poker players burn more money here than back in US/EU. You should look at Thailand as an expensive country with plenty of cheap third world alternatives. If you don't make adjustments to do things differently, you will end up paying much more to continue to live your USA/EU lifestyle.
For example, in the US, I would have a car (or two) and a real motorcycle or two and yes, I live in big metro area. No way in hell could I afford that in Thailand. So people find decent alternatives and most 2+2ers just drive a cheap scooter...
Most goods in Thailand are more expensive than in USA. Even the 'cheap' markets are just low quality junk that you can find for very similar price in Walmart/Kmart on sale.
If you want or need something, bring it with you. This applies to 99% of things.
Some budget retirees stay here for next to nothing and some poker players burn more money here than back in US/EU. You should look at Thailand as an expensive country with plenty of cheap third world alternatives. If you don't make adjustments to do things differently, you will end up paying much more to continue to live your USA/EU lifestyle.
For example, in the US, I would have a car (or two) and a real motorcycle or two and yes, I live in big metro area. No way in hell could I afford that in Thailand. So people find decent alternatives and most 2+2ers just drive a cheap scooter...
Most goods in Thailand are more expensive than in USA. Even the 'cheap' markets are just low quality junk that you can find for very similar price in Walmart/Kmart on sale.
If you want or need something, bring it with you. This applies to 99% of things.
Along with me im probably going to bring 2 laptops, i've only got a macbook pro right now but not sure if i wanna go down with a macbook to thailand to grind for 6 months cause lots of programs mess with iOS. Maybe ill boot camp so I can get W7.
So basiclly my expenses every month will be like Food, drinks, rent for house, some activites every know and then... and live poker if possble!
My father has said that he will pay my flight tickets so dont have to worry about that part
I mean, is it plausible to live a good life in Thailand, eating nice, having fun and doing alot of stuff... paying 2.000$/month everything included?!
11-10-2011
, 02:58 PM
If you have discipline you will do it no problem, if you haven't who knows.......
11-10-2011
, 07:12 PM
Quote:
Its very easy on $2k, the question you have to ask yourself is can you do it? Or will you end up being degen and getting sucked into the nightlife and not grinding as much as you should to earn money?
If you have discipline you will do it no problem, if you haven't who knows.......
If you have discipline you will do it no problem, if you haven't who knows.......
11-11-2011
, 12:32 AM
11-11-2011
, 04:40 AM
11-11-2011
, 05:33 AM
11-12-2011
, 02:13 AM
Quote:
Excellent post man.
I too am interested in the cost of living and quality of life.
1. What would a middle class (North American standards) couple with no children have to spend per month on food/lodging/entertainment etc.. if they wanted to "upgrade" and live "well"?
Living will be cheap enough if your a couple, most of the costs of the single male comes from drinking, partying, banging thai girls etc. I would guess you could easily live on $3000 per month for the 2 of you. actually you would do well to spend $50 a day each and every day.
2. What are the biggest issues with living in what is commonly accepted as a third world country?
I havent come across any but i live in Koh Samui and its really quite here except for when the full moon crowd roll into town a few days each month.
3. How reliable is basic infrastructure (electricity/cable/internet/roads/public transport - etc...)?
electricity- cuts out now and again, happened when i was on the treadmill at the gym, almost broke my leg lol
cable- depends on the place, the wind and rain seems to affect it but that doesnt happen much
internet- great in the 'black canyon' coffe shops, got to ask them what they use. I guess if you are willing to pay for good internet then you will get good internet.
roads- Ok, not any worst than the UK to be honest, few big pot holes etc.
public transport- huh? get a moped.
4. How corrupt is law enforcement (a 2+2 poster was caught with some weed and extorted out of $2000 USD in exchange for not getting booked - is this common?).
So dudes whats it like i'm caught doing something iilegal, will i get a slap on the wrists and maybe a small fine like back in my nanny state country? answer: hell no just dont do anything illegal and your be fine. The thais are good people, really good people they just get a bad wrap from tourist who come across and think they can do whatever they want because they are on holiday then the thais have got to lay the smackdown, then people go straight to the forums bitching about how they are hard done by.
TIA - I will ask more as I think of new questions.
I think you have covered most of the FAQ's here, enjoy your time in the LOS
I too am interested in the cost of living and quality of life.
1. What would a middle class (North American standards) couple with no children have to spend per month on food/lodging/entertainment etc.. if they wanted to "upgrade" and live "well"?
Living will be cheap enough if your a couple, most of the costs of the single male comes from drinking, partying, banging thai girls etc. I would guess you could easily live on $3000 per month for the 2 of you. actually you would do well to spend $50 a day each and every day.
2. What are the biggest issues with living in what is commonly accepted as a third world country?
I havent come across any but i live in Koh Samui and its really quite here except for when the full moon crowd roll into town a few days each month.
3. How reliable is basic infrastructure (electricity/cable/internet/roads/public transport - etc...)?
electricity- cuts out now and again, happened when i was on the treadmill at the gym, almost broke my leg lol
cable- depends on the place, the wind and rain seems to affect it but that doesnt happen much
internet- great in the 'black canyon' coffe shops, got to ask them what they use. I guess if you are willing to pay for good internet then you will get good internet.
roads- Ok, not any worst than the UK to be honest, few big pot holes etc.
public transport- huh? get a moped.
4. How corrupt is law enforcement (a 2+2 poster was caught with some weed and extorted out of $2000 USD in exchange for not getting booked - is this common?).
So dudes whats it like i'm caught doing something iilegal, will i get a slap on the wrists and maybe a small fine like back in my nanny state country? answer: hell no just dont do anything illegal and your be fine. The thais are good people, really good people they just get a bad wrap from tourist who come across and think they can do whatever they want because they are on holiday then the thais have got to lay the smackdown, then people go straight to the forums bitching about how they are hard done by.
TIA - I will ask more as I think of new questions.
I think you have covered most of the FAQ's here, enjoy your time in the LOS
11-12-2011
, 02:15 AM
Quote:
For sale in bkk
modded xbox 360 with:
2 controllers, 500 watt step up/down converter, 4 real games, 17 burned games for 5k
desktop computer:
dell inspiron, quad core 2.4g processor, new power supply, new graphics card(not sure on specs, paid 3k at pantip), it does not include a harddrive, includes cables for 5k
Both items would have to be picked up from my condo in bangkok, not interested in delivering anything.
modded xbox 360 with:
2 controllers, 500 watt step up/down converter, 4 real games, 17 burned games for 5k
desktop computer:
dell inspiron, quad core 2.4g processor, new power supply, new graphics card(not sure on specs, paid 3k at pantip), it does not include a harddrive, includes cables for 5k
Both items would have to be picked up from my condo in bangkok, not interested in delivering anything.
